Rocking chair



Dec 3, 1968 A. JUTILA 3,414,325

ROCKING CHAIR Filed Aug. 18, 1967 www /MU/v/h/ mma,

United States Patent Office 3,414,325 Patented Dec. 3, 1968 3,414,325 ROCKING CHAIR Arthur Jutila, Kankaanpaa, Finland Filed Aug. 18, 1967, Ser. No. 661,698 2 Claims. (CI. 297-281) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A rocking chair comprising a supporting frame and a chair swingably mounted thereon, said frame being formed of a pair of laterally spaced side members of A-shape having longitudinal top bars and having legs which slant downwardly and in fore-and-.aft directions, and a brace member connecting the center bars of said side members, said chair including a back, a seat, and three legs of which a laterally spaced pair is disposed at the front or back and the third leg is disposed oppositely of said pair at the underside of the seat, a U-shaped hanger having its upper ends articulated to the horizontal top bars of the side members and its bight articulated to the bottoms of said pair of legs, and a V-shaped hanger hav-ing its upper ends articulated to the top bars of the side members and its lower apex articulated to the bottom of said third leg.

This invention relates to an article of furniture, and more particularly, to a rocking chair, swing or glider.

While rocking chairs are notoriously old, the ones constructed as swings or gliders have been complicated, large and heavy, and unsuitable for use in small, or even ordi narily sized modern rooms.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide an improved rocking chair, which is small, compact and light and which overcomes the disadvantages of known constructions.

It is another object of the invention to provided an improved rocking chair, or like article of furniture, of very simple construction and having a minimum number of parts, thereby enabling the chair to be economically fabricated.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rocking chair, or like article of furniture, which will be sturdy and lasting in use, and which will have esthetic appeal to the eyes of observers.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a rocking chair which will require little more space than an ordinary chair and which, during its rocking movements, is so fashioned as to move the seat chiefly horizontally with a minimum of arcuate movements in a vertical direction.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, itself, Ihowever, both as to its organization and advantages thereof, will best be understood fro-m the following description of a specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures and in which:

FIG. l is a side elevation of a `chair according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view showing the details of the articulation joints of the chair hangers.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated as comprising @a frame having a chair swingably mounted thereon and between the sides of the frame. The frame comprises a pair of laterally spaced side members, each having an A-shape and being formed of substantially horizontal top and center connecting bars 1, 4, respectively,

and downwardly slanted legs 2 and 3 secured to the ends of the center bars 4 and to intermediate points of the top bars 1. In this manner the side members are A-shaped in appearance, and are strong and sturdy because of the angular disposition of the legs. The center bars 4 are preferably connected by a horizontal and central bracing strut 5 which, as will hereinafter appear, performs the additional function of a stop to limit the extent of swinging motion of the chair. The bottoms of the frame legs 2 and 3 are desirably capped by .antifriction cups 16 which may be formed of rubber, or the like.

The chair may be of conventional construction having an ordinary seat, a backrest 7, and an arm rest 8, of suc-h dimensions as to enable the chair to t between the side members of the frame and to freely move in a swinging motion. As a departure from the conventional, however, the chair is preferably provided with a pair of front legs 9 which are laterally spaced apart, and one central rear leg 10. If necessary, the rear leg may be braced by struts 13 angled from the lower part of the leg upwardly and outwardly to the bottom of the seat 6.

To provide for rocking movements of the chair, the latter is mounted on two wire or rod-like hangers, one having a U-shape, and the other having a gener-ally V- shape. These hangers are respectively denoted by reference numerals 11 and 12. At their upper ends, both hangers are bent into hooks, as best shown in FIG. 3. Each hook comprises a forwardly, or rearwardly, directed and slightly sloping portion 11a and a downwardly disposed hook end which seats in a semispherical, upwardly opening cavity of a bearing 14 which is secured in the tubular member forming the top connecting bar of the A-shaped side member of the frame. The bearings 14 are placed and secured in receiving apertures in the bottom walls of the tubular connecting bars before end caps 15 are inserted to close the open ends of the bars. The upper ends of the hangers pass through bottom opening slots in the walls of the tubular connecting bars in such manner that the hangers are free to swing fore-and-aft. At their lower ends the legs 9 are articulated to t-he bight portion of the U-shaped hanger 11 -in any suitable manner. Similarly, the bottom end of the third leg 10 is articulately connected to the .apex of the generally V-shaped hanger 12.

The mode of use of the rocking chair is obvious from the above description. During use, the seat will move backward and forward in a substantially linear path with a slightly arcuate elevation at the forward and rearward limits of movement. As previously noted, the transverse horizontal brace 5 of the support frame, upon striking the hangers 11 and 12, will serve as a stop to limit excessive swinging movement of the chair.

The chair as described above may be formed of hollow tubular parts with `the exception of the seat and the backrest so that it will be strong and sturdy, as well as lightweight. The seat and backrest may also be formed of inexpensive and light materials, such as plywood, or even canvas.

It will be apparent that because of their design, the A-shaped frame members will sturdily support the chair and its occupant, and by reason of their slanting legs, will overcome any tendency to over-turn as the occupant rocks in forward and rearward movements. In addition to being lightweight and sturdy, the chair is compact and graceful. Because of the position of the chair between the frame sites there will be no friction between the frame and the chair other than that existing at the points of articulation, and there will be no risk that, for example, an occupants or a childs fingers will be pinched between the xed and the moving parts. The hook-shaped pivotal supports at the upper ends of the hanger bars are of simple and sturdy construction and inexpensive to fabricate.

Although a certain specific embodiment of the invention has been shown Iand described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A rocking chair comprising a supporting frame and a chair swingably mounted thereon, said frame including a pair of l-aterally spaced side members each of A-shape and having substantially horizontal top and center bars, both bars being connected to legs which slant downwardly in fore-and-aft directions, and a transverse brace member connecting said center bars and the lower portions of said side members, said chair being disposed between the side members and including a back, a seat, a pair of laterally disposed, vertically extending front legs, a single rear leg disposed centrally but displaced rearwardly with respect to said pair of legs, and a pair of upwardly and outwardly angled braces connecting said rear chair leg near its bottom to the seat of the chair, a U-shaped hanger having its upper ends articulated to the top bars of the side members and its bight articulated to the bottoms of the front legs, and a V-shaped hanger having its upper end articulated to Ithe top bars of the side members and its lower apex articulated to the bottom of the rear leg, the top connecting bars of said A-shaped side members extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond their points of connection to the slanting legs of the side members, and the upper ends of said hangers being articulated to said top connecting bars at points spaced forwardly and rearwardly of the said connections to said slanted legs, said transverse brace member connecting the center bars of said side members at substantially their centers and being located under the seat and between said hangers, the upper ends of said hangers being rods bent into hook shape and having downwardly disposed hook ends, said top bars of the side members being tubes having bottom openings n the Walls thereof through which said hook members of the hangers are disposed, and semipherical bearings positioned in said top bar tubes receiving said hook ends to provide articulated supports for the hangers.

2. A rocking chair comprising a supporting frame and a chair swingably mounted thereon, said frame including a pair of laterally spaced side members each of A-shape and having substantially horizontal top and center bars, both bars being connected to legs which slant downwardly in fore-and-aft directions, and a transverse brace member connecting said center bars and the lower portions of said side members, said chair being disposed between the side members and including a back, a seat, a pair of laterally disposed, vertically extending front legs, a single rear leg disposed centrally but displaced rearwardly with respect to said pair of legs, and a pair of upwardly and outwardly angled braces connecting said rear chair leg near its bottom to the seat of the chair, a U-shaped hanger having its upper ends articulated to the top bars of the side members and its bight articulated to the bottoms of the front legs, and a V-shaped hanger having its upper ends articulated to the top bars of the side members and its lower apex articulated to the bottom of the rear leg, the top connecting bars of said A-shaped side members extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond their points of connection to the slanting legs of the side members, and the upper ends of said hangers being articulated to said top connecting bars at points spaced forwardly and rearwardly of the said connections to said slanted legs, said transverse brace member connecting the center bars of said side members at substantially their centers and being located under the seat and between said hangers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 147,766 10/1947 smith 297-282 XR 2,095,636 10/1937 Hardy 297-282 2,179,395 11/1939 Yerrick 297-281 XR 2,212,093 8/1940 Young 297-280 2,311,482 2/1943 smith 297-282 XR 2,567,612 9/1961 McGehee 5-124 XR 2,683,481 7/1954 Lorenz 5-129XR 3,047,334 7/1962 vanderminden 297-281 XR BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

GLENN FINCH, Assistant Examiner. 

